Bhubaneswar: Newly-appointed coach of the Orissa senior men’s cricket team, Shiv Sundar Das is ready for the challenge.
“I know I have a tough act to follow as I have to fill the shoes of one of the most popular cricketers of Orissa, Debashis Mohanty. But I am mentally prepared to take up the job,” stated the former India Test opener, Friday.
Last year Orissa entered the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy after a gap of 19 years under the guidance of Debashis. His successor Shiv knows that the expectations will be high. However, he remained unperturbed. “I think I have the ability to motivate and guide players to reach new heights,” Shiv stated. “Also I have been a part of the team as a batting consultant. So I know most of the players,” he added.
The technically-gifted former batsman said that he has enough coaching experience to handle Orissa cricketers. “I was their main coach in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year when Debashis was absent. I share a good rapport with the players and most of them like my style of coaching. So it will be a smooth transition for me,” he asserted.
Shiv hinted that the crux of the team will be more or less the same as of last year. “The team will again bank on senior players like Biplab Samantray, Govind Poddar and Basant Mohanty. I just hope that with enough experience they will perform better this year,” he stated. As far as youngsters are concerned Shiv has high hopes on players like Sandeep Patnaik and Subhranshu Senapati.
However the main challenge for the new coach will be to prepare the team in a very short span of time. “We have only a month. Selecting the team will be a tough as there are no local tournaments. So I am keeping my fingers crossed,” Shiv signed off.
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